NFL Trade Rumors: Analyzing Donovan McNabb's Impact in Minnesota

Donovan McNabb is a 34-year old quarterback that has failed out of his last two jobs. In most professions this is unacceptable behavior, but the NFL is a different story.

After unceremoniously being bounced out of Philadelphia, a team he led to four-straight NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl loss, he was sent, spitefully, to Washington.

The Redskins looked at it like a match made in heaven with the hiring of Mike Shanahan, but the marriage didn't last, McNabb threw 14 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, and was eventually replaced by (gulp) Rex Grossman. Yes, the same Rex Grossman that led the Bears to the Super Bowl only to start eight games in three and a half seasons after the loss before replacing McNabb.

Now, we know that the Redskins have no intention of keeping McNabb for this season, but they also haven't had much interest in him until now. 

The Minnesota Vikings, sporting a rookie quarterback after Brett Favre's retirement, may be interested if the price is right.

The Deal

Minnesota and Washington, according to NFL Network's Jason LaCanfora, have the parameters of a deal in place for McNabb to venture north.

The problem here is that McNabb has a sizable contract that even Washington can agree is not worth taking on.

So, McNabb will have to restructure with Minnesota if the two teams are going to truly come to an agreement, and there is no telling exactly how easy that will be.

If the quarterback is serious about playing, at least for another year, he'll have few better options than this.

The Impact for Minnesota

 The Vikings are coming of a season that ended with the retirement of a legend, the overdue firing of a coach and the decline of a defense that once was one of the best in the league.

With Leslie Frazier now running the show, a rookie quarterback at the helm and the league's best running back entering the true prime of his career, the Vikings are stuck between second and third gear.

Using the 12th overall pick in this year's draft on Christian Ponder showed two things: one, the Vikings believe he can start this year and two, they still think they can put together a team that can win now.

Bringing in McNabb—for the right price and in the right role—may actually help this team.

It would give Ponder, whether starting or waiting a few weeks, the opportunity to learn from a quarterback—regardless of you feel about him—that actually succeeded in the league at one time.

Make no mistake about it, this will be Ponder's team by the end of the year—he's too smart, driven and valued to not take over—but McNabb can either bridge that gap or take a backseat knowing he didn't have a better offer on the table anyway.

Is It Worth Bringing In McNabb?

 The first six weeks of the season for the Vikings feature games against San Diego, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Kansas City, Arizona and Chicago.

Four of these teams are expected to compete for the playoffs this year while Detroit is sporting a vastly improved defense and Arizona may actually have a quarterback (that is a reference to Kyle Orton, not Kevin Kolb).

But for those first three weeks in particular having a veteran—whether starting or helping with preparation—against two teams that will challenge for their respective division crowns is hard to pass up.

I say bring in McNabb—if he renegotiates—and let him and Ponder decide who starts. Take it slowly, hand the ball off to Adrian Peterson a few hundred times, and then watch the defenses stack the box and open up a new world to whoever lines up under center.

The risk will be minimal and the reward could be great. Either way Adrian Peterson is going to see the ball a lot and he just needs someone to keep a defense honest from time to time.

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